Copper and bronze have a useful property: when the outer layer of the metal oxidizes, it forms a protective covering called a patina that prevents corrosion from penetrating the structure of the item. That’s the source of that distinctive green color.
Yeah I’m astonished it held up this well over a 3000 year period, it would be more typical for it to look like this:
This is from southwest Greece and a similar age. I wonder if the composition of the bronze plays a big part, or if the well-preserved one was buried under unusual conditions.
Copper and bronze have a useful property: when the outer layer of the metal oxidizes, it forms a protective covering called a patina that prevents corrosion from penetrating the structure of the item. That’s the source of that distinctive green color.
Gotcha, thanks. I’ve seen at least copper items degraded down, but not sure about bronze.
Yeah I’m astonished it held up this well over a 3000 year period, it would be more typical for it to look like this:
This is from southwest Greece and a similar age. I wonder if the composition of the bronze plays a big part, or if the well-preserved one was buried under unusual conditions.
Yeah, that was really my question. I’m betting something about the soil, maybe in a similar way that peat bogs can preserve organic stuff/bodies.